Skip to main content

Thanks, Universe

As if any of us needed reminding:

When the pandemic began I think I was, like most people, reading everything I could about it. That turned into daily rituals of checking the numbers and the news articles every morning, noon and night. I began distancing myself and my guy as best I could from the rest of the world, and created new hygiene routines when I couldn't. I tried to be upbeat and positive when I felt like crawling under the bed, which was every day because I felt helpless. I couldn't even quilt. I stopped sleeping. I wrestled with my job and my household chores, and otherwise walked around in a perpetual state of jumpy exhaustion, if there is such a state.

I knew I couldn't keep that up, so I made an effort to change my response to this mess. I tried small things first. I got creative with cooking, and rediscovered some old favorite recipes I haven't made in forever. When we went shopping I kept an eye out for scarce supplies that I knew my kids needed, and bought them when I found them. In these times nothing says I love you like a six-roll pack of toilet paper, or a box of diapers, or a bottle of hand sanitizer. Feeling useful felt very good, and I focused on that. Since I couldn't quilt I started sewing cloth masks and offering them to family and friends. I did some little sewing projects. I also stopped reading all the news and stayed off the internet except for writing blog posts and e-mails.

I'm not back to normal for me, but I finally feel like I'm heading in that direction now. What have I done this week? I started gathering the things I'll need to make a birthday quilt for my grandson. I baked cookies for my daughter, my guy, and a family friend. I gave Kat that refill bottle of hand soap that she loves, which really made her happy. I even ordered myself some new shorts from Target as summer is here. Plus I donated all my old shorts to Goodwill last winter (nothing I had fit my greatly reduced backside anymore.)

I'm not oblivious to the pandemic. I do still check the numbers once a day, but only in the morning, and only for my county. This morning Lake County had 277 cases. I don't intend to be #278, so I'll continue to be careful by practicing social distancing, wearing masks and keeping up the anti-virus hygiene. But while I'm here, and healthy, and able to do something, I will be making myself useful, and enjoying my family and friends.

So thanks for the reminder, Universe, but I think I'm good now.

Labels:

Comments

nightsmusic said…
The only news I listen to is WJR 760 on the AM dial. I can't take the media because I no longer trust 99% of it. I'm trying to do those things that make me and my family happy while trying to keep us all safe. I can't do more than that.
May 28, 2020 at 6:04 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goodwill Gamble #2 Arrives

My second Goodwill gamble arrived; this is one I paid ten bucks for last month. Just inside the lid was a big roll of plastic mesh that I think is for latchhook work. In the auction listing it looked like fabric to me, so that was unexpected. Someone at the seller's end was nice enough to put a note on this pinned fabric. I'll put on my gloves before I take it out to inspect it. The embroidered green fabric turned out to be 1-1/2 yards of sequinned and three-dimensional designer fabric. I'll guess this cost somewhere between $20.00 to $30.00 a yard, and it's in pristine condition. But here's a shot of everything in the lot, which is mostly crafty odds and ends with a small amount of cotton fabrics, a large amount of synethetic fabrics, and some other surprises. The original owner of these was probably a Catholic school teacher; these beads, crosses and medallions are the kind of rosary kits for kids to make at Sunday school or Bible camp (and s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.
Post a Comment
Read more

Love Means This

Invested in a couple of hand-dyed bundles from one of my favorite fabric artists. This one said "Make me into something for Valentine's Day." So I went for a quilted and embellished tote. I kept thinking about what love means to me as I worked on it. Here's the finished tote. Although I was tempted to embellish with beads and pins, I got sick and only felt well enough to do a little stitching every night. As I worked I thought about how often love seems disappointing to us, especially when it fails to live up to our expectations. But now that I've experienced love in many forms, I can say that it's made me a better person than I might have been without it. Love is a precious thing, and should be appreciated in all its forms. I am very grateful for the love of my guy, my child and my friends who have stuck with me all these years. That's you two, in case you're wondering. :) Also finally found something to do with a ve...
1 comment
Read more